The mighty
US Navy won’t say so publicly, but it’s increasingly worried
by China’s development of new anti-ship missiles. The chief
worry is China’s new DF-21D whose primary target is America’s
huge aircraft carriers.

According to
Chinese sources, the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) has
recently become operational in limited numbers. Originally developed
for submarines, the DF-21D is said to have a range of 2,700km and
at least some capability to strike moving targets.

China’s
military is hard at work on satellites, long-range backscatter radar,
submarines, and drones that can identify moving naval targets up
to 3,000 km distance. These overlapping sensors will provide accurate,
real-time targeting data for the DF-21D and other shorter-ranged
sea, air and land-based anti-ship missiles.

The US Navy
insists its carriers are not threatened by any of China’s new
missiles and retain their freedom of action off China. But the DF-21D
can cover the entire South China Sea, including Taiwan.

This could
be extremely bad news for the US Navy, which deploys 11 aircraft
carrier groups that enable the US to project power around the globe.

Batteries of
DF-21D’s based safely inland may keep the US Navy far off China’s
coasts, isolate Taiwan, and threaten US bases in Japan, Okinawa
and Guam. In fact, the mere existence of the DF-21D’s and their
deployment in sizeable numbers may be enough to keep US carriers
at least 2,000 km from China’s coasts, thus beyond the useful
range of the carrier’s strike aircraft.